Today’s job market is extremely competitive. Many companies are competing with one another to snag top talent. One of the greatest pools of untapped talent lies in recent college graduates. Each summer, graduates embark into the world, eager to make a professional impact. Their skills, drive, and unique perspectives can create immense value for an organization, but the competition amongst companies is fierce.

As a business leader, you want to be able to stay one step ahead, especially when it comes to scaling your workforce. How can you leverage the latest technology and best practices in order to recruit recent college graduates? This article breaks down a few actionable tips and tricks.

Strengthen your employer brandYour employer brand plays a pivotal role in encouraging recent graduates to apply for an open position and can be enhanced through the savvy utilization of social media channels. According to Innovation Enterprise, nearly 80 percent of candidates use social media in their job hunts. Moreover, only one in three candidates would apply to a company whose ratings average two stars or lower on a review site like Glassdoor.

Your ability to market your organization to specific talent demographics directly influences the success of your hiring initiatives. Consider turning to recent college hires to provide testimonials for your website or recruiting channels. You can also leverage their stories, as well as a snapshot of what it’s like to work for you on your social channels. Prospective candidates can then see how their peers have grown and benefited from joining your company and gain a less formal look into its people, culture, and work-life balance.

Streamline the hiring processCandidate experience is an important part of the hiring cycle. There are many steps in between sourcing a candidate and sending an offer letter. If recent college graduates don’t feel supported and valued throughout the process, they may become disengaged and look to other opportunities. Data collected by TalentAdore says that 60 percent of survey respondents had quit an application process due to its length or complexity. 65 percent also said they rarely, if ever, received notice of their application status, while a staggering 80 percent claimed they would not reapply to a company that had failed to give them an update on their application status.

This information may seem overwhelming or scary to recruiting teams; however, the solution is actually relatively straightforward — in order to successfully hire recent college grads (or any type of talent, for that matter), the hiring process has to be streamlined to prioritize a candidate’s experience. Top talent simply doesn’t have the time to sit through a lengthy application process that requires them to upload document after document. Applicants want a simple and straightforward process that can be completed on any device.

Your HR team can leverage recruiting software applications to help restructure its approach to hiring. Tools like these can automate and simplify areas of the application process on both sides. They also deploy technologies like chatbots and digital assistants that help answer commonly asked questions and notify applicants of their status in a timely manner. In order to keep in-demand graduates engaged, you may also want to consider deploying text messaging tools that can drive traffic to job openings and allow you to interact with qualified candidates directly.

Offer more than just competitive payToday, compensation is about more than base pay, especially for recent college grads. The overall compensation package should offer health benefits, office perks, flexible working arrangements, and career growth opportunities. This framework helps the candidate and the company reaffirm that a hire isn’t just a seat to fill, it’s a long-term investment/partnership that reaps rewards on both sides.

As perks like remote work and rewards and recognition programs become standardized, think about what more you can offer a recent graduate. High performing employees are invested in their professional development and seek opportunities that will challenge them and help them grow. You’ll want to develop continuous training and mentorship programs and look into investing in higher education and professional certifications. Additionally, sponsoring travel to industry events and conferences is a great way to foster knowledge transfer from outside your organization.

Recent graduates can bring unrivaled value to an organization, as long as the company has strategies and tools in place to recruit this population effectively. Your company can leverage social media to strengthen its employment brand, employ technology tools that aid in simplifying the application process, and offer a benefits package to retain new hires long-term. These strategies reflect the evolving nature of today’s fast-paced job market and can help young college graduates and organizations make better employment decisions.

Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.

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How to Recruit Recent College Grads

Today’s job market is extremely competitive. Many companies are competing with one another to snag top talent. One of the greatest pools of untapped talent lies in recent college graduates. Each summer, graduates embark into the world, eager to make a professional impact. Their skills, drive, and unique perspectives can create immense value for an organization, but the competition amongst companies is fierce.

As a business leader, you want to be able to stay one step ahead, especially when it comes to scaling your workforce. How can you leverage the latest technology and best practices in order to recruit recent college graduates? This article breaks down a few actionable tips and tricks.

Julie Shenkman
Julie Shenkman is a Marketing and Communications Manager at Nexxt. She has more than 10 years of experience in the areas of public relations, social media, online marketing, and sarcasm.
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Rich Milgram
Rich Milgram is a software engineer turned entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience. As the proud founder and CEO of Nexxt, he is a recognized leader in the HR tech space.
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Sarah Morgan
Sarah Morgan is a Global Media Account Manager at Nexxt. It’s a fancy term for “wearing a multitude of hats” for companies hiring internationally through Nexxt – consultant, IT, sales, customer service and guest blogging. She’s never once been stung by a bee.
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